Harvey solves disputes with rabbinical wit and wisdom rather than a gun.
[3] Each story takes inspiration from one or more Jewish folktales and puts a Western spin on it.
This eclectic mixing of genres sprang from Sheinkin's childhood as a Jewish-American boy who read both Jewish legends and American Westerns.
[4] One recurring character is Milton "Big Milt" Wasserman, an outlaw who appears with his two-man "gang" as reigning with terror over Elk Spring before Harvey's arrival.
[2] Big Milt appears again in Rabbi Harvey Rides Again with his incompetent son Wolfie,[4] both of whom appear throughout Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid, in which Wolfie is elected sheriff by the town council of Helms Falls.